


Riding lessons: Athelstan/ragnar

by haplo



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-30
Updated: 2013-03-30
Packaged: 2017-12-06 23:34:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/741474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haplo/pseuds/haplo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Athelstan decides to learn to ride a horse...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Riding lessons: Athelstan/ragnar

Athelstan decided to learn to ride a horse at first because he was thankful for anything to keep from missing his monastery, his home and the other priests.

It had been very difficult for him to adapt, not only because he was used to a calmer and quieter life of copying sacred books and psalms, but also because he had been lately feeling and thinking things he shouldn’t have and that made him feel guilty and mortified.

He needed a distraction and he found it, and he had to admit that it undoubtedly occupied his mind. First he had to overcome his fear of the animal itself, a huge brown criature with strong legs who, as Athelstan imagined, took an instant dislike to him staring at him with an unfavorable eye. Then he had to focus on staying in the saddle.

After a few tumbles onto the hard rocks, his mind was occupied with something else: pain. “This is the end,” he told himself, trudging back into the house, so rigid and sore he could barely walk and with little wouds all over his face. “This time I was lucky. Next time I will break my neck.”

Limping along, he looked up to see Ragnar standing before him. The warrior had been out, in the west, stealing precious treasures and taking slaves from other lands, from his land. All Athelstan could see of his face were the piercing purple eyes, and they were grave and intense.

Fearful he had done something wrong, Athelstan flushed and began to stutter out an apology. “No, no,” Ragnar interrupted him. “I am pleased to see that you are learning to ride. It is a useful skill and one that is blessed by Odin. Perhaps, someday, I will take you out and teach you what I know. Until then”—his gaze went to Lagertha, standing slightly apart—“you are with a teacher almost as skilled.”

Pleased at Ragnar’s words and the unusual fact that the warrior viking had actually stopped to speak to him, Athelstan flushed even more and bowed his head. Gaining Ragnar’s respect was a goal worth risking one’s life for,Athelstan decided, and he promised to learn to ride even if it killed him, which at that moment seemed quite probable.


End file.
